The present disclosure relates to a deicing circuit assembly, in particular to an additively manufactured deicing circuit assembly and method of manufacture.
Deicing circuits are typically made by photochemically etching metallic alloy foils on a substrate that is subsequently built into electrothermal heater composites wherein the foils are attached to substrates prior to etching. This method of manufacture suffers from insufficient repeatability due to over or under etching, photoresist alignment issues, delamination of the photoresists, poor adhesion to the substrates, etc. Also, the process is quite time and labor intensive and results in a significant amount of chemical waste.
In the case of a propeller blade, the deicing element is made via photochemical etching of copper alloys. An example is copper containing 0.6 to 1.2 wt % chromium. After fabrication, the element is transferred and attached to a neoprene substrate, then wrapped around the blade edge. This assembly process introduces internal stresses or fatigue associated with bending and folding of the etched metal foils into the deicing element. Additionally, the surface irregularities/roughness associated with this fabrication process may induce turbulent flow on a propeller blade. Alternate fabrication techniques for deicing circuits that minimize turbulent flow are needed.